Julie in the Community

Living in Aiken, SC since 2000, Julie has been very involved in her community. The late Alan Corey is the reason Julie moved to Aiken as he encouraged her to come help with STAR, the therapeutic riding program that he founded. Without an instructor, STAR had not been serving students for 8 months. As a PATH Advanced Instructor, Julie restarted and ran STAR, with the help of Alan and his Board of Directors. Although no longer teaching with STAR, Julie is a strong advocate and supporter of STAR. For more information on STAR, visit http://starriding.org/

In 2013, Julie met Chris Power who offered horsey retreats for Women Beyond Cancer. Julie joined their team and several times a year offers a unique horseplay experience for those attending these retreats. Through working with horses on the ground, participants connect to horses in an uplifting and empowering way. For more information, visit http://womenbeyondcancer.org/index.html

In 2014, Julie was approached by Bob Nevins and Saratoga War Horse to help them create their first satellite program for veterans in Aiken, SC. Classes began in the fall of that year and are now offered twice a month for those suffering from symptoms of PTSD. With the great team of people staffing Saratoga War Horse-Aiken, Julie really enjoys sharing the amazing rescued Throughbreds with the veterans for the life-changing round pen experiences. The program takes place at the Equine Rescue of Aiken and works with off the track thoroughbreds who are being retrained for forever homes. For more information, visit http://www.saratogawarhorse.com/

Around Christmas time, Julie can be found joining the fun of the Annual Christmas Parade and Horseback Caroling in downtown Aiken. It’s an Aiken tradition not to be missed if you are in town the second week of December. In this 2014 picture, Julie is riding her American Horsewoman’s Challenge partner, Carolina Moonshine who was 4 years old at the time. He was a rock star and worked the crowd as if he had been a parade horse all his life!

TEDx

I’d like to say that my accident had a silver lining. And that was getting the request for speakers for TEDx Augusta. I am a huge TED Talk fan and listen to them all the time. As I love speaking and sharing about horses, I have always wanted to give a TED Talk. So I applied and was accepted!! So to the TED Stage I go on Sat., Feb. 3 at the Miller Theater in Augusta, GA.
In the talk, I will share my experiences of my work with veterans and the healing power horses have had on those who have gone through the connection process. My speech will feature the photos of Shelly Schmidt and I am thrilled, and yes a little nervous!
Tickets are available for this event on the Miller Theater Website.http://event.etix.com/ticket/online

I did it! Ozzie and I published!

I did it! I finally published the story of Ozzie, the horse that changed everything for me! Ozzie was with me for more than 25 years and is the reason I study horsemanship! Many of you have met Ozzie, who passed away a year ago. But few of you know about our early days together. Ozzie was a challenging horse with a big personality, and I was madly in love with him, even though he was not suitable for me at all. He would push me and cause chaos wherever he went in his early days. Thanks to him, I sought out help from a friend who lead me to the path of horsemanship! And I have never looked back! Don’t forget to get your copy on Amazon.com.